Qantas reveals new Country Road premium economy amenity kits
By Chris C., January 20 2016
Passengers flying in Qantas premium economy will soon receive new Country Road amenity kits for use during and after their flight.
Come Australia Day – that’s Tuesday January 26 for our international readers – the unisex kits come in a black and white gingham print and include a matching Country Road-branded eye mask, black socks and a dental kit with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
“We love what Country Road does and we’re really proud to partner with such an iconic brand to give our customers around the world an authentic Australian experience when they fly with us,” said Phil Capps, Qantas’ Head of Product and Service Development.
“We have always offered comfort items in Premium Economy, but we wanted to add an extra bit of luxury with the new Country Road amenity kit, which customers can use after the flight as a make-up bag, pouch for a smart-phone or personal earphones and the like,” Capps added.
These new premium economy amenity kits will be available in on all Qantas Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 flights, including to London, Dubai, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Santiago and Johannesburg from 26 January 2016.
Also read: Singapore Airlines brings A380, premium economy to Melbourne
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Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
30 Nov 2015
Total posts 730
Certainly offers the very basics.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Mar 2014
Total posts 567
Westfield lux!
19 Jan 2016
Total posts 4
Does anyone actually use the socks or eye shade?
The only thing I keep from amenity kits are the creams, toothbrush and the most useful item,the bag itself for other uses.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
10 Jan 2012
Total posts 259
I use the eyeshades, sometimes the socks. Don't usually use the toiletries as I take my own.
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
30 Nov 2015
Total posts 730
Don't see any creams in this amenity bag. The contents of this are the worst I've ever seen, makes a Emirates Business class bag seem like the lotto jackpot. I suppose that cheesy gingham pattern will help freshen up the Cabin appearance when they have been donned on the eyes and the cabin Crew walk through with a chuckle on their face.
11 Mar 2012
Total posts 316
It's a Premium Economy kit. Why are you comparing it to a Business Class kit? At least undertake a like for like (Qantas J vs Emirates J amenity kit) comparison.
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
30 Nov 2015
Total posts 730
I usually fly Emirates Business Class, they dont have a Premium Economy Class, the Bang for Buck that you get is staggering in comparison, this one hardly seems worthwhile putting out.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
15 Aug 2012
Total posts 171
Based on all the reviews and personal experience, PE on Qantas is very good value.
As per previous comment, Emirates business and Qantas two completely different products. I can't understand the relevance?
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
30 Nov 2015
Total posts 730
Not really quite sure why passengers would want to trade their own quality socks for some tiny non elastic fitting limp thing that would hardly cover your foot. I've never been able to stretch one to a male size 12 foot. Still, then again, it might be an improvement for the thongs and shorts brigade that find themselves in PE these days.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Oct 2013
Total posts 702
Ugh
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
10 Jan 2012
Total posts 259
I love this and I want one! They should do different colours to collect: black/blue/green/red/yellow/purple
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
30 Nov 2015
Total posts 730
Could become highly collectable.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Dec 2014
Total posts 284
V/ nice especially for PE (The bag I mean!!!)
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jul 2014
Total posts 142
I think they are great for PE and I love that Qantas is supporting another Aussie brand like Country Road.
19 Jan 2016
Total posts 4
South African company Woolworths Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent company of Country Road.
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 650
Country Road is still an aussie BRAND (founded in Melbourne in 1974), regardless of who cuurently 'holds' it.
21 Apr 2012
Total posts 3012
Kinda like Tim Tam and Vegemite? :p
20 May 2015
Total posts 581
I wish they could throw in a lip balm (because frankly, you need lip balm on longhaul flights, although the A380 doesn't dry you out like a 747 or 777 does). Otherwise it looks like a meaningful product improvement.
15 Jan 2013
Total posts 36
I arrived home this morning PE on Qantas 747 from HKK. Gee we must have had the oldest 747 in the fleet - it is REALLY looking past its use-by date. I don't think it had even had the A380 business class retrofit (it looked like 2-3-2 skybed mark I).
Qantas' PE is still a great product for day flights, but there were a few letdowns:
* crappy amenities kid - thankfully this has now been rectified; the Country Road kids are much more befitting the 'premium' experience.
* food out of Sydney was pretty average. The hotdog snack sounded good on paper but reality was far from ideal - would have been better off giving us an egg and lettuce sandwich.
* that damn leg rest. Anyone over 5'10 still stuggles to get any support out of the padded area of the legrest. QF should take a leaf out of Virgin's book and give a couple more inches legroom in PE to allow the legrest to elevate higher and give support to taller people - would also create a more 'lie-flat angled sleeper' experience.
* confusion over which toilets to use - on A380 seems the J class toilet was available but on 747 PE passengers are expected to join the hoardes lining up for toilets at the back of the plane. The product should be consistent over all aircraft types.
That said, I still think PE represents fantastic value, when on sale, for flights to Asia. I really wish QF would put a couple of rows into their A330s for flights to Singapore - I would definetly buy them and it would encourage me to travel there more often!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
24 Jul 2015
Total posts 6
I realise this is for PE however Qantas really need to lift their game when it comes to the amenities packs. I'm trying to be loyal to Australia's airline, however after travelling on Qantas this Christmas I've discovered their packs are woeful in comparison to other codeshare airlines. We flew domestic AA business class as an early morning flight from LAX to JFK and the 5 hour amenity pack blew QF's 13 hour pack out of the water! Yes, I do use the socks (very handy for wearing to the toilets when males are also on board ;) and you don't want to put shoes on... I leave these on the plane after the flight...) and I also used the eye mask on my last flight to block out the dinner service. However the reality is if you take a walk to the back of the plane, you can get both of these from the self serve area (in bulk, just not in gingham), if you need. The J class packs on QF need a huge upgrade when you consider the price paid for a fare, and even more so when you take into account the packs offered by codeshare partners... If I didn't have to fly via Dubai on my next OS flight, I'd certainly be picking Qatar over Qantas...
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
30 Nov 2015
Total posts 730
I wish we had Middle East Airlines flying from Australia to USA, the only way to fly in luxury and comfort.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 Sep 2012
Total posts 236
Personally I think it looks great and well pitched for a premium economy (not business class) amenity product. Surprised there's no Qantas branding though.
I use the socks for the flight but rarely keep them (unless they're high quality).The eye shades and pack itself come in handy for later use (eye shades - esp for future travels in economy or low cost where no shades are provided in economy).
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
30 Nov 2015
Total posts 730
Perhaps they are not willing to tarnish their own brand on something rather basic. Good point about the lack of branding, no one mentioned that. I haven't bought Country Road in years, the quality simply is not there any more.
08 Feb 2012
Total posts 5
Flying business next month and the wife has fallen in love at the sight of the Country Road kit. Do you reckon Qantas will oblige our request for one?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Dec 2012
Total posts 40
I was in F yesterday on a flight from LAX and asked very nicely for one. Request was granted. Bag is really smart looking but not large at all. Will comfortably fit an iPhone 6 Plus and some QC 20's earbuds though.
10 Aug 2015
Total posts 113
This is very clever and I wonder why it was not done earlier.
I good fit between both brands. I would hope though there is a cosmetics aspects included, lip balm as mentioned above is a great idea.
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